Technology and Design @ Devon Middle SchoolUpdated January 2024 - Projects for students:
Sept 2023 - Tech and Design @ DMS - Assignments and general information will be posted on the pages below:More questions? Please use this Contact form.
Look forward to a great year! Go Wildcats! New "Holistic" Curriculum (2023)Visit the new website for the Holistic Curriculum that has just been published by the New Brunswick Department of Education and Early Childhood.
Digital Research and ResourcesHere are some great research for teachers to share with students or just to consider when teaching.
Broad Based Tech 9/10 - PD for Teachers!
New Position - Technology and Design Teacher, Devon Middle School
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Tech Quick Links:
Go Wildcats! Technology teacher.
Contact Mr. Rich Currently a teacher at Devon Middle School in Fredericton, NB, Canada. Formerly employed with New Brunswick's Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (also known as EECD). Experience: - Tech @ Devon Middle (2021-...) - Provincial ICT Specialist (5 years) - IT/BBT/Graphics (10 years) - Visual Arts (2 years) - Woodworking (2 years) - English 123 and Gr.9 (1 year) Latest Purchases: - Jacquard Screen Printing Kit (bought here) - Raspberry Pi (bought here) Favourite Software Tool: - Scratch (from MIT) Favourite Software Language: - Python SportsAll about EducationMr. Rich used these materials while teaching in Fredericton and previously Hartland (Anglophone West School District) in New Brunswick, Canada. All materials are provided free and are intended for educational purposes only!
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Interesting Podcast:
"How to be Amazing" interviews the co-founder of Reddit about the future of work. Dec 2015
"How to be Amazing" interviews the co-founder of Reddit about the future of work. Dec 2015
Vector Graphics with InkscapeVector graphics are images that are made up of lines that have "nodes", "handles", colour and thickness
(but not pixels). When we zoom in or out of a vector graphic, the image remains clear and clean. Therefore, vector graphics are great for logos (business cards to billboards) and for web-based games (e.g. Flash). Presentations:
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Design with AutoCADClick for larger view
Grade 9 students are introduced to Computer Aided Drafting (CAD). Students use AutoCAD LT 2009. This is commercial software but students can get a free limited-time download from Autodesk:
Photo Editing: GIMP vs. PhotoshopThere is no doubt that Photoshop is the industry standard for photo editing software. (a.k.a. "image editing".)
However, this is a grade 9 introductory course and my students often ask if they can do work at home. (Yes, you can buy Photoshop, but it's expensive. And yes, there are 'cracked' - illegal - versions on the Internet, but why encourage my students to become pirates? "Arg!") So, I use the GIMP. Students can download it for free. So, check out my "Raster Graphics" unit for grade 9! Then contact me; I'd love to hear your reaction. :-) |
Intro to Scratch (Programming)Scratch is a free entry-level programming environment that's great for kids. Drag-and-drop program blocks can do almost anything!
Making a Frogger-style game (Scratch)Hop across the highway without getting run over! (Requires an understanding of negative numbers and (X,Y) coordinates.)
Prerequisite: Scratch Intro |
Intro to Google Sketchup (3D CAD)Sketchup is a free
entry-level tool for 3D design. The "Sketchup 5" tutorials are archived here, with my teaching handout and assessment rubric. Teaching Spreadsheets using Calc from OpenOffice.orgOpenOffice.org is a free office suite.
This is also especially for those of you who can't stand the MS Office 2007 interface (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). OpenOffice.org has almost all the same features in almost all the same places as Office 2003! The tutorial handouts I provide can be used with either MS Excel or OOo Calc. (My students have repeatedly proved this despite my instructions!) |
Random Topics to Consider
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